Passchendaele to open Toronto film festival

Actor/director Paul Gross’ Passchendaele will open the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2008. The World War One drama follows a wounded Canadian soldier who returns to the war for the battle of Passchendaele.

Gross, best known for Due South, Slings and Arrows and Men with Brooms is joined in the cast by Caroline Dhavernas, Gil Bellows and Joe Dinicol.

New festival co-director Cameron Bailey said that, “Paul Gross is an inspiring Canadian and a leader in our industry. By paying tribute to our nation’s heroes – including his own grandfather, an Alberta veteran of Passchendaele — Gross uses the visceral charge of movies to contribute a foundation chapter to our national history. While never ignoring the horrifying truths of this or any war, Passchendaele stands as truly epic storytelling from western Canada.”

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